Healing the Mob
by jenben
Summary: Jesse is kidnapped to heal a mob boss who doesn't want to let the doctor go. REPOST.


Disclaimer:  Diagnosis Murder does not belong to me.  I make no money from this story.

Healing the Mob

Jesse walked sleepily out of the hospital and towards his car.  It had been a long, twenty hour shift and he couldn't wait to get home.  He just hoped that he didn't fall asleep at the wheel and drive off a cliff.  That would be so yucky.

            "Doctor?" a gruff voice asked by a black Cadillac.  Jesse turned around and stared blearily at the man. 

            "Yeah?"

            "So, you a doctor?"

            Jesse nodded.  "There's a whole bunch of them in the hospital if you need some help.  Can't swing a cat by its tail without hitting a doctor there."  The man moved towards Jesse followed by another man who stepped out of the Cadillac.  "Is everything okay?" Jesse asked with concern, doctor-mode kicking in.

            "We need you to help us."

            The hairs on the back of Jesse's neck rose.  He didn't know why, but his instincts told him to get quickly away from the two men.  Something in the first man's voice resonated in the doctor's mind and he backed up.  "Anybody in the hospital will be more than happy to help you."

            "But we want you."

            "But I want to go home."

            The second man pulled a gun out of his pocket.

            "Then again, the sign of a good doctor is to know when to change his plans."

            The first man smiled good-naturedly.  "See, it ain't that hard.  Now you get in the car with Vinny and I'll drive.  Oh, and put this on," he added, tossing a blindfold at Jesse.  He grabbed it and turned it over in his hands while they walked towards the car.  Unseen by the two men, Jesse let his hospital ID slip out of his pocket, hoping someone would find it and assume the worst.

            "How necessary is this?"

            The second man cocked his gun.

            "Okay, I'll just assume it's very necessary."

            "Y'know I'll have to charge extra for making a house call," Jesse laughed nervously as the car came to a final stop.  Vinny helped him out and took off the mask.  "Wow," Jess awed.  "It's huge!"

            They stood outside a gargantuan mansion set in one of the deserted, forested areas.  It was colossal and Jesse couldn't stop staring at it even as he was prodded towards the front door.

            "What do you want?" he asked once inside the house.

            "Okay, here's the problem," Joey, the first man, said as he led Jesse through a maze of halls.  "Our boss got shot yesterday and the old doctor, well…he aint' doin' so good.  So I got this good idea, right, that we'd get us another doctor to fix up Mr. Copelli—"

            "Benny Copelli?" Jesse gasped.  "But he's one of the biggest crime bosses in L. A.!"

            Joey stopped them.  "Hey, kid, it ain't polite to interrupt."

            "Sorry."

            "Me and Vinny was in that parkin' garage for an hour before you got there.  We just figured we'd take the first doctor we got, and you was him.  So you gotta help Mr. Copelli and get the bullet out.  If you don't, we gotta shoot you.  Wha'd'you say?"

            Jesse swallowed hard.  "I say that I don't have much of a choice.  Where is he and where did he get hit?"

            They entered a large, lavishly decorated room and there on the bed was Benny Copelli.  He was rather old, about Mark's age, but didn't look nearly as healthy.  It was likely due to the bullet in his shoulder.  Doctor-mode took over again.

            "You've lost a lot of blood," Jesse said as he approached the bed.  "It looks like the bullet hit pretty close to your heart.  Are any of your men the same blood-type as you?"

            "Who's this kid?" Benny demanded of Joey.

            "He's a doctor.  He's gonna help you.  I figured that since we…got rid of Dr. McIntyre you'd need another doc.  Me and Vinny picked him up at the hospital."

            "You a doctor?  You're so young!  They lettin' infants into medical school now?"

            Jesse rolled his eyes and picked up the bandages around the wound.  It was starting to get infected and had to be painful.  He bit his lip and turned to Joey.  "I can't just snap my fingers and make the bullet come out.  I need tools and an operating room.  We need to get him to a hospital."

            "You're in luck, doctor," Benny said.  "I got my own private operatin' room right here in this house.  A man in my position's gotta be careful about his health.  Can you get the damn bullet out?"

            "I can.  I just need to know two things."

            "What?"

            "Are you going to kill me and do any of your men match your blood type?"

            "No and yes."

            Jesse nodded and instructed Joey to move Copelli into the operating room.  He trusted the crime boss's answer to the second question.  He just wasn't so sure about the first.

            It took him two very strenuous hours to get the bullet out of Benny.  The little bugger had lodged itself in the collar bone and was tricky to get without causing further damage.  It took another hour to set up the blood transfusion and the anti-biotic IV solution.  The operating room was _very_ well stocked.  

When everything was finished, Joey and Vinny moved Benny back into the bedroom.  Jess followed them to keep an eye on his patient.  Once in the room, Jesse dropped into a large chair, exhausted.  He curled into a ball, laid his head on the armrest, and fell asleep.  If Benny had a problem Jesse would be right there.

Jesse was still asleep two hours later when Benny awoke.  He called for Joey and two aspirin.

"Wha'd'you want us to do wit' the kid, Mr. Copelli?" Joey asked after handing the crime boss a glass of water.  "We ain't let him see how we got here so me and Vinny could just take him back where we found him."

"That kid ain't goin' nowhere, Joey.  He already knows way too much for us to just let him go.  Besides, since we got rid of the other doctor, I need a new one.  He's real bright and I kinda like 'em.  We'll keep him here and see if he can't do us some more good."

"Okay, Mr. Copelli, but what should I do wit' 'em right now?  Mr. Rozetto's here and he needs to see you about the guy that shot you.  The kid said we shouldn't be movin' you around too much.  You gotta stay in bed."

Benny ground his teeth.  He didn't like being told what to do—especially by somebody one-third his age.  However, his health was very important and he got the feeling that the young doctor was very good at medicine.  "Okay, bring Rozetto in here and take the kid down to one of the guest bedrooms.  And make sure he doesn't leave our company.  I'd hate to kill a boy with a good future ahead of him."

Joey easily lifted Jesse and walked him down to a bedroom.  He laid Jesse down and even covered him up.

"Thanks," Jess murmured sleepily, not even aware of whom he was thanking.  He was equally unaware of his new position as Benny Copelli's personal doctor.

"Where's Jesse?" Amanda asked as she entered Mark's office.  "I tried his pager, I called his house, I called his cell phone, and I paged him in the hospital and he hasn't turned up."

Mark put down his comic book.  "Well, he did finish a pretty long shift and he's probably home sleeping.  Soundly.  Why do you need him?  He could probably use the sleep; he's been running himself ragged lately."

"He got a patient in ER today with some bad burns and a head injury.  He tried a new technique in treating the initial problem and it turns out to have saved the man's life.  I thought Jesse might want to know."

"And he isn't answering anything?"

Amanda shook her head.

"Well I know he left today because he walked into me just as I was coming in.  Literally, he walked into me.  I hope he got home okay."

Amanda gave Mark a curious look.  "He left?"

"Yes."

"Then why is his car still here?  I passed it on my way into the hospital and I just figured he was asleep somewhere in the building.  Are you sure he left?"

"Pretty sure."

Her eyes narrowed.  "Something's wrong.  I can feel it.  He didn't leave the hospital in his car, he isn't answering anything, and I _know_ he isn't in the hospital because I had the receptionist page him three times.  By the third time she was very unhappy."

"I know.  I heard.  You may have some patients waking up in the morgue now."

"What do we do?"

"We call Steve."

Jesse woke up on a bed in a strange room.  He let go of the pillow he had been hugging (it hadn't been a pillow in his dream) and got out of the bed.  He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but as memories of his kidnapping and Benny Copelli flooded his mind, he was just happy to be waking up at all.

He got out of bed and tried the doorknob.  The door opened, but a large man stood outside the room.  He glared down at Jesse.

"Wha'd'you want?"

Jess bit his lip.  "I need to check on Mr. Copelli."  Why did his voice have to crack?

            "You gonna try to escape?"

            "Do I look suicidal to you?"

            _Sure, that's right, Jesse, mock the big man.  You don't really want your bones intact.  You don't need _every_ limb to function properly_.

            He was escorted to Benny's room and found Joey playing rummy with a happy crime boss, a glass of scotch on his nightstand.  He looked up and smiled.  "I'm glad to see you awake, kid.  I've been waitin' to thank you for the bang up job you did—no pun intended, of course.  You're pretty talented."

            "Thank you.  May I check the bandaging and the wound?"  As he did so, Jesse proceeded to ask Benny about his health.  "No problems with the anesthesia?  No fever or vomiting?"

            "I'm good, kid."

            "I'm sorry that I fell asleep.  I—"

            Benny held up a hand.  "It ain't a problem.  Everything turned out fine and who can blame you for bein' tired after performing surgery, huh?  D'you sleep good?"

            Jesse shook his head.  After assuring himself that Copelli was well, he didn't want to make small talk.  "Look, I like living.  I really enjoy having a heartbeat and a pulse and one of my favorite things to do is draw in a breath, so please don't take this the wrong way: Let me go!  I fixed you, you're better, and I want to go home!"

            "Joey, open the window, please.  Good, now close it.  Go and refill my glass.  Turn down the lights."

            Benny continued to order Joey around, finishing by telling him to hop on one foot.  Joey did that and stopped when he was told to.  Benny ordered Joey to leave.

            "Sit on the bed, kid."  Jesse sat.  "Joey is a big man.  He could probably break my neck with one arm if he wanted to.  But instead he does whatever I tell him to do.  He's seen what I do to men who don't do what they're told and he's smart enough to stay away from that end.  Do you think I can be a nice guy, kid?"

            Jesse gulped.  "Yes."

            "And do you think I can be a mean guy?"

            "Uh-huh."

            "You're not goin' home, kid.  I like you.  You're a good doctor and I could really use somebody like you in my organization.  I promise not to kill you as long as you're as loyal to me in the future as you were on the operatin' table.  You understand?"

            "You're keeping me prisoner."

            Copelli shook his head, frowning.  "Don't look at it that way!  I'm just…givin' you a new position with better hours and better pay.  Trust me—I'm doin' you a favor.  You'll love it here."

            "There's no way you'll let me go?"

            "No."

            Jesse ground his teeth.  "I'll do what I have to do to make sure you don't die; I can't exactly get out of it and still keep the Hippocratic oath.  But I don't want your money and I don't want to be here.  I don't 'love' this at all."

            Benny's eyes narrowed.  "Kid, you'll love it a lot less if you try anythin' stupid.  Now go fix me a martini, huh?"

            "No.  You shouldn't be drinking right after surgery.  If you want to drink alcohol right now you're gonna have to make it yourself."

            "Fine.  Tell Joey to come in on your way out.  And doc?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Welcome to the family."

"What have you got?" Mark asked his son as soon as Steve stepped through the doorway.

            "It looks like Amanda's female intuition is right; I can't find Jesse anywhere.  The stuff he would normally take home isn't in his locker, but his car is still here and it hasn't been tampered with."

            Amanda looked at Steve's face and knew something was wrong immediately.  "What haven't you told us?"

            "I found Jesse's hospital ID about ten parking spaces down from his car.  I don't know what it means, and I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but it seems important right now.  He's missing and all that's left is his ID, which he needs if he wants to get back into the hospital.  Do you two have any ideas?"

            "You think something happened in the parking garage?" Mark asked.  

            "That's the most likely place."

            "I think we had better talk to the security people and get copies of the garage videos.  Whatever happened there was probably taped by the cameras and can give us a clue on where to go next."

            Mark called security while Steve and Amanda went to the doctor's lounge to set up the VCR.  All three hoped to see a clue on the tape because if the video turned out to be a dud, they had no other leads.

            "Doctor?"

            Jesse looked up from his book to see Joey walking into the library with a tray of food.  He set the food down next to Jesse.  "Mr. Copelli says you gotta eat."

            "I'm not hungry."

            Joey eyed him knowingly.  "Yes, you are.  You gotta eat or you won't be any good and then Mr. Copelli would be unhappy.  He likes you; he don't wanna kill you."

            Jess gulped.  "Well, if it would make Mr. Copelli happy…"

            "Hey, doc, can I ask you a question?"

            "If I can ask you one, sure."

            "Okay, you go ahead."

            Jesse set down his book.  "Will Mr. Copelli really kill me?"

            "Mr. Copelli don't like killin' people.  He's real religious and he says it's a sin to kill other people.  But he does it when he has to.  You're safe if you don't do nothin' stupid.  And Mr. Copelli says you're not stupid."

            Jesse nodded and indicated that Joey should ask his question.

            "Why'dyou fix Mr. Copelli?"

            "Besides being afraid for my life?"

            "Yeah."

            "I don't like killing people.  I'm not a _real_ religious person, but I think it's a sin to kill other people.  Even if they're stupid."

            Amanda was falling asleep on Steve's arm.  The parking garage tape was, naturally, extremely boring, and although she was worried about Jess, it was long past the end of her shift and she was tired.

            "There!" Mark yelled, jumping off the couch and startling Amanda.

            "Wha'?  What's wrong?"

            Mark paused the video where Jesse was being accosted by two large men.  "Those two right there stopped Jesse.  I don't know what they said to him, but that one on the right has a gun."

            Steve moved closer to the television.  "I recognize that one on the right!  That's Vinny Ruzza.  He works for Benny Copelli."

            "The crime boss?"

            Amanda was confused.  "What on Earth would Benny Copelli want with Jesse?"           

            Mark stared at the television, a look of determination forming on his face.  "I don't know, but we're going to find out."

They sat in Mr. Copelli's bedroom.  Jesse held the stethoscope on the old man's chest.  "Deep breath."

            Copelli inhaled deeply, made a wheezing sound, and exhaled.  "Boy, I'm getting old.  Y'know, doc, my shoulder still hurts a lot."

            "Gee, there's a surprise.  I just took a bullet out of it barely two days ago.  Didn't you take some of the Codeine from your stock of medical supplies?"

            "Of course I did.  But you won't let me drink when I take them.  You even got Joey refusing to make me drinks."

            "And you haven't killed him yet?" Jess asked while checking the bandaging.  He was still tired and although he had no appetite, he was extremely hungry.  The combination of exhaustion and hunger was making him mildly cranky.  One look from Benny remedied that.  "Sorry," Jesse mumbled.  He taped fresh bandaging on the wound.  "How did you get shot?" he asked once they were done with the exam.  

            Benny smiled.  "Curious kid, ain't ya?  A deal gone sour.  When something bad happens in my line of work, people pull guns.  Then they shoot them."

            "That's awful."  Jesse hated guns.  Loathed them.  He had seen enough people enter the ER with gunshot wounds.  The idea that someone could so easily shoot another boggled his mind.  It showed on his face.

            "You don't approve?" Copelli asked, a grin on his face.

            "Of course not.  I don't approve of kidnapping, either, but how can you just…kill people like that?  So easily?"

            "Ya learn.  Look, kid, don't worry about it.  You're not gonna have to deal with it unless something happens to me again or to one of my men.  And I'm not too worried about that right now.  I put that last guy out of his misery."

            Jess looked disgusted.  "What kind of a deal could go that sour?" he asked rhetorically.  

            Benny's grin faded and he was suddenly very serious.  "Kid, you might not want to ask so many questions.  The least you know, the longer you'll live.  Got it?"

            "I got it.  I—"

            Jesse was interrupted by Joey who rushed into the room.  "Cops are here!"

            "Steve," Jesse said excitedly and without forethought.  He clamped his hand over his mouth.

            Both gangsters turned to look at him.  "What did you say?"

            "Steve," Joey repeated slowly.  "That's the cop's name at the door.  Steve Sloan."

            "You know him?" Benny asked in surprise.

            Jesse looked very nervous.  "Uh…no?"

            "Don't lie to me!  How d'you know this cop?"

            The young doctor wanted to crawl under a rock.  Why was there never a well-placed rock when he needed one?  "He's, um…well, he's my…best friend."

            Copelli threw his hands up in the air, exasperated.  "This is just great.  We are talking about this when the cops leave," he said sternly, looking at Jesse.  His gaze moved to Joey.  "Take him to his room and make sure he stays quiet.  I don't need any trouble with the cops.  I'll go deal with this Sloan guy.  And, kid?"

            "Yes?"  His voice really needed to stop cracking.

            "Don't be stupid."

            "Detective!  How are you doing?  I'm Benny Copelli.  Please come in.  Would you like something to drink?"

            Steve and Mark stepped tentatively through the doorway; Benny's over affable manner had them on their guard.  "No, thanks.  I don't drink on the job.  Actually, I'm here because of a missing person; Dr. Jesse Travis."

            "Never heard of the kid."

            Mark stepped forward.  "How did you know he's young?"

            Copelli smiled innocently but cursed himself for having let that slip.  "Ain't all doctors kids nowadays?  I'm tellin' ya, the world's startin' to make me feel like an old man."

            Mark nodded but said nothing.  That didn't mean he believed the mob boss.  Steve was less subtle.  "So, you know nothing about Dr. Travis, who was seen being escorted from Community General Hospital by Vinny Ruzzo, a man who works for you?"

            "Ruzzo no longer works for me," Benny lied effortlessly.  "He left a few months ago to pursue other things.  I'm sorry.  If I could help you, I would."

            Steve took the opportunity.  "You could let us take a look around.  Or we could get a warrant.  Your choice."

            "Look around?  Not a problem.  Let me show you the house."

            "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather show myself."  Steve was very worried about Jesse.  He viewed the doctor as quite young, naïve, and innocent.  Moreover, Jesse was exactly the strongest guy in the world; the last thing he needed was to be in the hands of the mob.  And Jesse was his best friend.  That worry did not lend itself well to Steve's good judgment or manners.  He moved close to Copelli's face.  "So I suggest you move."

            Benny's expression darkened.  "I do have bodyguards, Detective," he muttered, his tone a warning.  "Don't push you luck."  He then moved aside and signaled that Mark and Steve could pass him.  "My home is your home."

            "This is my room," Benny said, following Steve and Mark into the spacious bedroom.  "I don't think you're gonna find any doctors in here."

            Steve looked carefully at the room from his position by the door, while Mark walked about in his typical, unassuming manner.  He stopped when he got to the wastebasket.  "Did you get hurt?"

            In the basket lay the bandaging Jesse had replaced only minutes ago.  Benny looked at the trash.  "Cut myself."

            "Would you like me to take a look at it?" Mark asked kindly.  "I'm a doctor."

            "No, thanks.  It's fine."

            Mark laughed softly.  "I can't tell you the number of times I've cut into something in the kitchen only to find out I cut my finger in the process.  How'd you get cut?"

            "Shaving."  He regretted it as soon as he said it.  Shaving?  As though they couldn't see his face?  "I dropped the razor and it hit my let. Big mess."  That was better.

            While Benny expounded on the gruesomeness of his cut, Marks eyes wandered over the man curiously.  If Copelli had been paying closer attention, he might have noticed the tiny spark in Mark's eye.

            "I don't think we're gonna find anything in here, Steve," Mark said once Benny was finished talking.  "We can move on."

            Joey sat on Jesse's bed, idly polishing his gun.  Jesse, however, was nervously pacing the room, debating whether he should yell out for his friends and get shot or stay quiet and remain a prisoner.  He turned to Joey.  "Would you really shoot me?"

            "Yeah.  I don't think I'd like it, though.  So don't do nothin' that makes me shoot ya.  Besides, it'd be messy and the carpet's new."

            Jesse blanched.  He was desperate to know how Joey and Mr. Copelli could be so nonchalant about killing people.  He continued his pacing until Benny's distinct voice could be heard down the hall.

            "Nothin' here 'cept guest rooms, Detective."

            "I'd like to decide that for myself."

            Jesse's face lit up at the sound of Steve's voice.  "Steve," he exclaimed in a whisper and stepped towards the door.  That caused Joey to stand up and cock his gun.

            "C'mon, doc, don't do that."

            Jesse stumbled back, falling over his own two feet and landing with a thud.  

            Out in the hall, all three men turned towards the direction of the fall.

            "What was that?"

            "What?"

            "That sound?"

            "Sound?  Probably somebody dropped something."

            "Who's somebody?"

            Copelli's eyes narrowed.  He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.  He took the only chisel he could.  "I'm beginning to feel that my hospitality is not appreciated.  I'll show you to the door and if you want to come back here, bring a warrant."

            With those words and the sound of people walking away, Jesse's heart sank.

            "Shit," he muttered to himself.

            "He's there!" father and son said at the same time once they were in the car.

            "How did you know?" Mark asked first.

            Steve started the car and began to drive.  "Copelli's reactions.  The guy was obviously lying through his teeth and when we heard that thud, his reaction was a dead give away.  Jesse's in there, dad.  I'm just worried about whether or not he's okay."

            "Oh, I think he's just fine.  For now.  And I'm positive he's there."

            "How can you be so sure?"

            "Bandaging like I saw is not normally needed for a cut from a razor.  I think Mr. Copelli got injured badly and need a doctor."

            "So he went to a hospital and got one."

            Mark nodded.  "I also saw a short blond hair on Mr. Copelli's shirt.  How many men do you think he has with blond hair?"

            "None.  I think it's time to get a warrant."

Benny walked into Jesse's room looking very unhappy.  Nobody wants an unhappy crime boss.  He took Joey's gun, aimed it at a chair, and unloaded the entire clip.  "Well, whadya know?  Billy Crystal was right!  It really does help you feel better."

            "Wha' happened, boss?"

            Benny sighed.  "We got problems.  Kid, those friends of yours are gonna go get a warrant and that means trouble."

            "It isn't my fault."

            "Then what was that thud we heard?"

            "He fell," Joey replied.

            "Only 'cause you were gonna shoot me!"

            "You moved to the door!"

            "It's not like I was gonna run out or anything."

            "I didn't know that."

            "Ya coulda said something instead of pointing your gun at me."

            "I didn't—"

            "Enough!"  Copelli took a deep breath.  "Whose fault isn't the problem.  The problem is that I'm too old to go to jail.  If they come back here with a warrant, it's goodbye mansion, hello jail cell."

            "Well, maybe you shouldn't have kidnapped me."

            The crime boss rolled his eyes.  "Kid, you might want to reconsider your tone of voice.  It's not helping me decide if I should keep you or get rid of you."

            Jesse's eyes lit up.  "Get rid of me!  Get rid of me."

            Joey had to stifle a laugh and even Copelli grinned a little.  "Do you understand that when I say 'get rid of you', I mean kill you?"

            Jess's smile fell and he was suddenly hurt and angry (and embarrassed).  "You said you wouldn't shoot me if I didn't do anything stupid.  Well, I didn't do anything stupid!  Would you go back on your word?"

            "Kid, I don't want to go to jail."

            "And I don't want to die!"

            There was silence.  Joey looked particularly uncomfortable.  If there was going to be any killing, he knew he'd be the one with the gun.  He didn't want to kill Jesse.  He kind of liked the young doctor, in fact.  It was refreshing to have somebody in the house who probably didn't know which end of a gun to shoot from.

            Finally, Jesse stomped his foot and pointed to the gun.  "Gimme it!"

            "What?"

            "Put a new bullet-thingy in it and gimme the gun.  I wanna shoot the chair!  Or the bed!  Or anything!"

            Benny's brow furrowed.  "There's no way I'm givin' you a gun."

            "Look, you think you got frustrations?  You think you have pent up aggression to get out?  You haven't had your life threatened for the past two days!  You haven't turned around to see some idiot pointing a gun at you!"

            "Hey!" Joey retorted indignantly.

            "Sorry."

            Copelli smiled in a fatherly sort of way.  "Kid, there is no way you're getting' that gun.  Do I look stupid to you?  I suggest you get a drink and relax.  Only mob bosses get to shoot chairs."

            "But Mr. Copelli, what about that time that Mrs. Copelli—"

            "Not now, Joey!  But our young doctor has a point.  Put another clip in the gun.  And get somebody to clean up that chair.  It's a mess."

            They turned away from Jesse and spoke in hushed voices about his future.  He didn't like how negative the tone of the conversation was getting.  Silently, he watched Joey reload the gun and place it in his back waistband.  A moment after that, the large thug glanced nervously at Jesse, then back at Mr. Copelli.  Things were looking worse by the second.  After a moment, Benny motioned to Joey and they walked out of Jesse's room, locking the door on the way out.  

            "Hey!" Jess yelled, banging on the door.  "Lemme out!"  He kicked the door but nothing happened.  Finally he huffed and sat on the bed (the chair was a little messy).  "Damn it," he muttered, frustrated.  "I better come up with something soon or I might end up dead.  Screw "doctor heal thyself".  I just wanna save myself."

            "What do you mean you left?  You just abandoned Jesse to that murderer?  Are you nuts?"  Amanda was not a happy woman.  Never send a man to do a woman's job.  "This is ridiculous!  You could have gotten him out of there; Steve has a gun!"

            "Amanda," Mark replied with the proper amount of humility, "we can't just barge through his home without a warrant.  Steve is working on that right now, but it's illegal to search someone's home without getting a judge's permission."

            Amanda pursed her lips.  "I've heard of the constitution, Mark.  It's just…it's Jesse.  God only knows what they're doing to him and if he's still alive."

            "Oh, he's alive.  I'm sure of that."

            After a few minutes, Steve walked in and sat down with a sigh.  "It's going to take a while.  Maybe even a couple of hours—" 

"What?" Amanda yelled.  She found the matter ridiculous.  Just get a bazooka, shoot down the door, and take back Jesse.  Who needs a Bill of Rights?

"We don't have all that much proof except Vinny Ruzzo and our looking around Copelli's house.  I'm having to pull some strings.  Even some of my strings are having to pull some strings.  It's a good thing Jess has helped the police department, or I don't know how we'd get that warrant."

            "So what do we do in the meantime?" Mark asked his son.

            "We wait."

            It was ludicrous.  It would never work.  It had as much of a chance at working as Jesse had at getting a date with Julia Roberts.  Actually, if it did work, Jess had every intention of dialing Miss. Roberts up and asking her out.  He pulled a credit card out of his wallet, kissed it, and put it between the door and the doorway.

            "C'mon, baby, work for me.  For as much as I owe on you, you had darn well better unlock this door."

            He slid the card down and carefully jimmied it by the lock.  He maneuvered it around until he felt it slip down next to the lock so it was holding the lock away from the doorway.  Smiling, Jesse pushed on the knob and the door gave way to the hall.

            "Yes!" he whispered excitedly.  "There's nobody here!  I knew he wouldn't have anybody guard a locked door.  I am so smart!"  He really wanted to do his little happy dance, but decided it was an inappropriate time.  

            With the stealth of a cat (maybe a drunk cat with glaucoma), he made his way down the hall and towards what he hoped was the entrance.  He was wrong.

            "We got anything to eat?" Vinny asked a nameless person in the kitchen.

            "I dunno.  Check the fridge.  Whado I look like? your servant?"

            Jesse quickly, and quietly, closed the door to the kitchen without being seen.  He leaned against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't been spotted.  Never had walking into the kitchen been such a frightening experience.  It just figured he was lost; the house was huge and he certainly hadn't received the grand tour.  He closed his eyes and tried to remember entering the house and going to Benny's room, then his own, and trying to make the path from his, to Benny's, to the entrance.  Slowly, he started to walk away from the kitchen, a possible course laid out in his head.

            "Hey!  Kid!  Wha'd'you doin'?"

            Jesse's face went white and he spun around.  There stood Vinny with an apple.  "I'm, uh…I mean I was going to…the kitchen.  I'm hungry…I want something…to eat."  Eat?  Like hell!  He was about to lose his breakfast!

            "Oh?  I thought Joey was supposed to be watching you.  Is Mr. Copelli okay?"

            _Well, yeah, except he's gonna shoot me_!  "He's fine.  Just tired; Joey took him to get some rest."  Lying was getting significantly easier.  

            "Okay.  I guess you're no big threat," Vinny laughed.  "That's the kitchen behind that door.  Be careful, though—if you don't know what it is, don't eat.  Bon appetite."

            As Vinny left, Jesse thought he might melt into a little puddle of goo.  He waited a moment to let Vinny leave and then crept away to find the entrance.  He walked for a good five minutes until he recognized some furniture.  Hurriedly, Jesse walked down the hall and barely had time to stop before he passed a room where voices came from.  The door to the room was open, and it was Benny, Joey, and Vinny talking.

            "I saw him goin' into the kitchen.  He said he was hungry."

            "Oh, crappy!  Why is my life this difficult?" Jesse whispered in the hall.  

            The sound of someone getting up, Benny probably, could be heard.  "He's supposed to be locked in his room.  How the hell did he get out?"

            Jesse raced away from the door, knowing they were aware of his escape.  Then it happened.  He saw it.  The entrance.  

            "Thank you, God!  I promise I'll never miss another mass again."

            And with that he was out the door and running as fast as he could.  There was only one problem.  

            He was in the middle of nowhere, and he had no idea where nowhere was.

Steve stood at the front door to Copelli's mansion.  He looked like he wanted a battering ram or at least a baseball bat.  Mark put a restraining hand on his son's shoulder.

            "I'm just as worried as you are, but you need to keep your cool.  Shooting someone isn't going to help."

            "It'll sure make me feel better."

            Mark cringed.  "It's moments like these I'm glad you didn't follow in my footsteps."

            Inside of the house, Benny quickly directed Joey, Vinny, and some of his other people to find Jesse.  As they left out the back, Benny answered the door.  His already aggravated expression turned to pure annoyance.

            "Aw, geez!" he moaned.  "You're back.  Didn't I send you away?"

            Steve thrust the warrant into Copelli's hands and stepped inside without waiting for an invitation.  Mark and the two uniformed officers followed.  Steve directed the officers to look threw different parts of the house.  He finally turned his attention to Benny.

            "How about you show us those guestrooms."

            The bad news was, of course, that he had no idea where he was going.  He didn't even know in what direction he was headed.  To make matters worse, all of the running had left him completely out of breath.  Suddenly, he wished he had been in Boy Scouts.

            After twenty minutes of trudging along (he was still out of breath), he spotted a bright red car in the distance.  Hope welled up in his chest (he would have preferred oxygen).

            "Hey!  Stop!" he yelled, jumping up and down on the side of the road.  The car slowed down but didn't stop, and when Jess saw his reflection in the windows, he understood why.  He looked pretty ragged.  Hell, if Jesse was the driver, he wouldn't pick himself up.

            "Well, that doesn't make a lot of sense," he muttered, continuing his walking.  "If I was the driver, I wouldn't need to pick myself up because I wouldn't even be here.  And I'd have a car so I wouldn't need to be picked up.  Unless the car broke down."  He stopped.  "Oh my gosh.  I'm going crazy.  I'm talking to myself and losing my mind.  Just great."

            "If he's not here, there's nothing we can do," Mark said softly to his son who was mentally burning holes into the smug Copelli.  "We've looked everywhere.  Even the doctor's office in the basement," he added, giving the crime boss his own angry look.

            "I tried to tell you," Benny said as innocently as he could.  "There's no doctor here."

            "If I could—"

            Mark interrupted his son.  „Mr. Copelli, where is everyone?"

            „Huh?"

            „I'm sure you must have a lot of people working for you, but there doesn't seem to be anyone around.  Where has everyone gone."

            Benny did not look really thrilled to be asked that question.  He did, however, look towards the back and sent Steve's cop senses into orbit.  Steve stepped forward.  "Where did everyone go, Mr. Copelli?"

            "I gave 'em all the day off."

            "How very generous of you.  Let's go look outside guys," Steve said as he brushed past Benny.

            Jesse saw the car and stopped to wave it down.  It was black and coming from the same direction he had come from.  After a moment to digest this crucial information, he stopped waving.  Jesse knew the car and, more importantly, he knew the people inside.  As they began to slow down, Jess was on his way into the forest that lay off the road.  Car doors slammed a moment later.

            "Wait!" Joey yelled.  "Kid, come back here!  I promise I won't shoot ya!"

            "I don't!" Vinny added loudly.

            Joey turned to his partner.  "Now how is that helpful, huh?  What's up with you?  Why you been so moody lately?"

            Vinny shrugged.  "I think it's a repressed anger thing.  Maybe a midlife crisis."

            "You should look into that; it ain't healthy.  Come on; let's go get the kid."

            They followed their prey into the forest, listened for the sound of sticks breaking under foot and ran in that direction.  Vinny did not enjoy that part.  "I'm gonna kill that kid," Vinny panted as they ran.  "I'm gonna tie him to a treadmill and run him to death!"

            They found him.  They rounded a tree and he rounded a tree at the same time, met face to face, and all three nearly had heart attacks.  Jesse turned to run, made it ten paces, and heard the gun cock and go off.  A boom resounded through the forest and the bullet flew only a foot over the doctor's head.  Jesse dove to the ground.  Unfortunately (for Jesse), his foot caught in a hole and all three men could hear the crack of bone.  After a moment of stunned silence, Jesse let out a loud, colorful string of words to describe his pain.

            "You shouldn't talk like that," Joey admonished as he walked over to Jesse.  "You okay?"

            Jesse glared at the bigger man (much, much bigger).  "You are the scourge of my life!  Every time you're near me I fall.  Why is that?  Why?!"

            "Vinny was the one who pulled the trigger."

            Jess's eyes narrowed.  "I hate you."

            Carefully, Joey lifted the young doctor and began to carry him out of the forest.  When he was placed in the car, Joey made sure to buckle him in.       

            "Oh, yeah.  God knows we wouldn't want me to get hurt in a car accident."

            Even Vinny turned around to give Joey a funny look.  "The kid's got a point, Joey."

            "You gotta buckle up," Joey explained calmly.  "It's the law."

            Vinny just shrugged and Jesse let his head fall back in the seat.

            Jesse sat on the end of Benny's bed with a package of frozen corn on his ankle.  He looked from the food to Vinny and back again.  When Benny walked in, he took one look at Jess and sighed.  "Kid, do you know how much trouble you've caused me?"

            The boy looked up from the side dish on his foot.  "I don't even like corn," he mumbled.  "You're gonna kill me and the last thing I'll see on Earth will be corn.  Couldn't I at least have lima beans?"

            Joey made a face.  "You like lima beans?"

            "Yes."

            "That's disgusting."

            "They're better than corn."

            "How can you eat them?"

            "How can you eat corn?  It isn't even a vegetable; it's a starch!"

            "Is not."

            "Like you'd know."

            "I think you're not really upset about the corn.  I think you just don't want to die.  You're projecting your feelings for one onto the other."

            Benny and the others stood staring at Joey.  "Where the hell did you learn that?"

            "On the Young and the Restless.  Haven't missed an episode in fifteen years."

            Jesse was about to say something to Joey when Benny stepped between them.  "Enough.  You two are worse than children."

            "He started it," Joey muttered under his breath.

            Benny continued, ignoring Joey.  "Kid, your friends showed up here not long after you left, and they had a warrant.  They searched this place inside and out."

            Jesse looked stricken.  If only he had stayed put!  Or, at least, not been caught when he escaped.  With a forlorn sigh, he fell back on the bed.

            "Now, you probably think I'm gonna kill you.  But you've saved my butt twice, so I figure it'd be pretty rotten of me to whack ya.  And I'm not a bad guy, so I'm gonna…"

            The young doctor was no longer paying attention.  He was going to live!  At least, for the meantime.  Life with Mark was always uncertain.  But for now, he wasn't going to die!  Hoorah!

            "Then I'll sic monkeys on you to suck out your brains.  Kid, have you heard a word I said?"

            "Sure.  Monkey brains.  Whatever."

            "Just hold still, kid."

            Benny nodded at Vinny who walked behind Jess (who was suddenly a little confused as to why Benny would want to use monkey brains for anything).  He pulled out his gun and aimed carefully for the back of Jesse's head.  This was payback for being forced to run.  Vinny brought down the gun and effectively knocked Jesse into next week (fortunately, it was Saturday afternoon and he didn't have too far to travel).  The kid slumped forward.

            "Put him back where you found him," Benny said and left the room.

            He woke up in the hospital garage.  His head hurt.  His ankle hurt.  Apparently, the garage was Hell.

            No.  No, it couldn't be Hell because he was sitting up against his car, and he knew his car would never be in Hell.  That meant only one thing:  He was back at the hospital!  Jesse slowly stood up, leaning against the car for support.  Why was the room spinning?  He'd have to get someone to look into that.  It just wasn't safe.

            Jesse limped painfully to the garage elevator that would take him into the hospital.  When the doors slid open, the nurse's station desk stood right in front of him.  Never had he seen anything so beautiful (well, maybe his car).

            "Nurse Shea, could you—"

            "Dr. Travis!  What are you doing here?  Word has it you got clobbered and kidnapped.  What happened?"

            Clobbered?  Jesse took a deep breath.  "Could you page Dr. Sloan for me and a wheelchair, please?  I'll explain things later."

            The wheelchair came first followed quickly by Mark, Steve, and Amanda.

            "What happened?"

            "Are you okay?"

            "How did you get here?"

            "Was it Benny Copelli who had you?"

            "Why are you in the wheelchair?"

            "Boy, you look like crap."

            He looked up at his friend with the best pathetic expression he could muster (which wasn't too hard).  "Aspirin.  I need some aspirin."

            Pitying their friend, the three took him to be examined and drugged (which is okay in a hospital).

            "So I walked all over the house because I wanted to confuse them and then I ran out to the road.  It's a good thing I'm in such great shape 'cause I musta run two or three miles before Joey and Vinny caught up with me.  They both had guns and we tangled a little but when I fell in the ditch—I mean, uh, when I got pushed in it, my foot broke."

            Mark, Steve, and Amanda all looked at Jesse incredulously.  Mark said nothing.  Steve opened his mouth, but closed it again.  Amanda was not so quiet.

            "Who _are_ you trying to kid?"

            "What do you mean?"

            "Never mind."

            Mark stood up, smiling at his friends.  It was good to have them all together.  Safe.  "Jesse needs his rest.  He's had a rough couple of days, a good knock on the head, a broken ankle, and that painkiller has gotta be making you sleepy, huh?  C'mon, guys, let's go."

            They left the hospital room where Jesse was being kept overnight for observation.

            "I'll come back for a police report from you when that story has settled into some semblance of reality," Steve called behind him.

            When the room was quiet and empty, Jesse reflected.  Steve had called the police department and they went to Benny's house, but it was empty.  Benny, Vinny, Joey—they had all disappeared.  Jesse wasn't upset.  Everything worked out in the end.

            "Dr. Travis," a nurse said quietly as she entered the room.  "We found something in the pocket of your coat.  I thought it might be important."

            She handed him a small white envelope and left.  Puzzled, the young doctor opened it.  Ignoring the desire to sleep (brought on by some simply fantastic drugs), he read:

Kid,

Sorry about knocking you out.  It was the only way to put you back and still leave town.  I'm an old man, kid, I can't go to jail.  Besides, have you ever had prison food?  It's enough to kill a man.

You know I appreciate what you done for me.  For what it's worth, you're one hell of a doctor.  If only you were a little crooked, everything would have worked out better.  Thanks, kid.  I'll be seeing you.

Mr. Copelli

PS. Joey says "hi" and corn is too a vegetable.  And you better not argue about it.

Jesse smiled sleepily.  The postscript was in a distinctly different handwriting.  He tucked the letter back into the envelope and let it fall on the nightstand while he fell asleep.


End file.
